Welcome to the St Leonards and St Ives Parish Home Watch & Community Website

Some Background

Welcome to the Home Watch and Community website for the parish of St Leonards and St Ives in Dorset which covers the areas of St Leonards, St Ives, Ashley Heath, Ashley, Avon Castle and Matchams.

The St Leonards and St Ives Parish Home Watch is one of many similar schemes operating nationally. Being a community based organisation, it involves residents working together to raise awareness of anything untoward happening in the neighbourhood that could cause worry and concern to any of its residents.

The Community tab will give you a broader view of this village with details of local amenities, businesses, club and societies, the parish council and useful contact information.

St Leonards and St Ives is a relatively new parish, formed in the 1930’s, once a more sizable population and a parish church had been established. You can read more on the Parish History tab. From small beginnings, it is now a peaceful parish of around 3300 homes, 99.2% of which are owner occupier with just a few local businesses. Thanks to it’s semi-rural environment and very low crime rate, St Leonards and St Ives is a popular retirement area – having all the advantages of a good road network and plenty of small to larger towns nearby.

We hope you enjoy exploring our website and perhaps we’ll meet at a village event somewhen – did we mention the wonderful community spirit!